Christopher Sharp drove the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio up the UK’s longest road (Image: Christopher Sharp)
It’s one of those classic pub quiz general knowledge questions, isn’t it? One that sticks to the tip of your tongue, but which sometimes you just can’t grasp until the answer is revealed.
For the record, the in the United Kingdom is the A1 which starts in and ends in . Once the main arterial road northwards before it was replaced by the M1, the A1 remains in use by millions of motorists annually.
Today the road, which starts by St Paul’s Cathedral in the centre of London, is referred to alternately as the A1 or A1(M), a name you become used to on your sub-eight-hour cruise north.
When I set off at half past five in the morning on a chilly September Saturday, the road was as busy as you’d expect one to be in the early hours of a chilly September Saturday. Nothing much changed the further one got from London as the sun rose over first London, then Hertfordshire, then Bedfordshire, and Cambridgeshire.
By the time late-morning came around, traffic levels had picked up and the road surface had become smoother. Like many of the roads in the UK at the moment, the surface was a bit of a lottery alternating between European smoothness and British bumpiness.
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The A1 takes drivers from the UK’s capital all the way up to Scotland (Image: Getty)
Despite this, it was a relaxing journey on the whole apart from when I occasionally looked down at my fuel gauge and tried to work out how much MPG I had to achieve to avoid another fuel stop.
Not that what I had fill up was especially unwelcome as it gave me another chance to look at what I was driving from the outside – The brand new Giulia Quadrifoglio, a super saloon from one of Italy’s legendary ‘automobili fabbricanti’.
It was in this bi-turbo 500bhp V6 legend that I engaged in many hours of hypermiling, the act of going slowly to save fuel. Armed with 443lb ft of torque plus that massive power output the Quadrifoglio is no hypermiling special.
What the car did have in its arsenal however was a relatively low weight of 1.6 tonnes, an eight-speed gearbox, and a footprint about the same as a second-generation . As a result of some economical driving, I was able to extract a lot of extra mileage out of the Quadrifoglio’s tank delivering enough MPG to take one fuel stop out of the 800 mile plus equation.
My Alfa by the side of the A1 (Image: Christopher Sharp)
As I drove through South and North Yorkshire past Doncaster and co the Quadrifoglio was very well-behaved and comfortable on the many motorway miles with its’ refined leather seats and easily adjustable driving position.
Alongside these sit an infotainment system complete with a de rigueur touchscreen and an array of button-based shortcuts to enable one to switch between various functions without swiping.
Things only improved as Sheffield, Leeds, and then Middlesbrough and Newcastle-upon-Tyne were in my rearview mirror. Despite some sticky traffic costing me precious MPG, I finally reached the point where I was starting to see signs for Scotland and, crucially, Edinburgh.
This meant I was nearly upon the A1’s best bit, the section that straddles Scotland’s east coast past Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Eyemouth, Cockburnspath, and Dunbar before the road pivots west into Scotland’s capital. As the sea opens up to your right the A1 sweeps and curves with the rolling landscape to your left.
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The road is over 400 miles long end to end (stock) (Image: Getty)
On that same left was Edinburgh, the end of A1 and my hotel for the night. Despite some tough moments where I regretted such an early start, it had been worth it to traverse the UK’s longest road.
So what stood out most on my marathon drive? Probably the biggest surprise of the entire road was that for the most part, the route was smooth and not entirely filled with lumps and large bumps. It felt a stark contrast to many of the UK’s side roads and urban streets that continue to deteriorate.
Even better was the knowledge of what the return home promised as I turned my attention to Alfa Romeo’s much admired rear-wheel drive super saloon, one with a relatively capacious 480-litre boot big enough for large suitcases and other items that join you in being propelled forward.
Christopher Sharp took the brand new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio on his epic 800 mile road trip (Image: Christopher Sharp)
The reason for this is that it isn’t just the motorways that the Quadrifoglio was built for. No, with adjustable suspension, front splitter and massive rear diffuser this is a car that wants to eat up the more interesting corners and cambers.
On the return run back to London I took a different route home that took me on some of Scotland’s twister roads past high hills shrouded in clouds complete with local poking out of them like the aliens from the film .
On these more dynamic and freshly tarmacked turns the Quadrifoglio’s dynamic suspension settings showed the car to be very capable, sinking its teeth into turns and maintaining vehicular stability through them despite the stiffly sprung set-up.
Once through this particular route, this Italian Hyde returned to Dr Jekyll as we moved south and back towards the familiar folds of England.
Having driven the car, I can’t say for certain if I would choose it over rivals from the UK or the rest of Europe, but what I do know is that when car/engine combinations like the Quadrifoglio and its V6 are no longer around, the roads will be a less characterful place without them on it.
As for the A1, it is certainly an interesting way to travel north one which provided an opportunity to observe the ever-evolving British automotive landscape and gave me an opportunity to say hello and goodbye to one of Alfa’s best.